September 12, 2017

Highgate Cemetery

I am off to the Bay Area for my annual physical, so I won't be sewing for a couple of days. I thought I would share with you a few photos of Highgate Cemetery, in London. It is a cemetery which was designed in Victorian times, and the style of the grave monuments is simply over the top. Inside that little gazebo is a statue of an arm chair, with a shawl draped over it, as if the person sitting in the chair will be right back. Sadly wishful thinking on the part of the bereaved loved ones. If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you can see the details better.

This is the grave of a famous boxer/pub owner who wished he could have his faithful dog with him throughout eternity.

This sepulcher draped in tree roots has been here a long time.

The place was just jammed with grave sites, some seemed to only be an inch or so apart.

I have always enjoyed walking through cemeteries and this one was without a doubt the best and most elaborate I have ever seen. Lots of famous folks are buried at Highgate: Karl Marx, lots of authors, politicians and notables of all sorts. Douglas Adams, author of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy has a plain simple granite slab with just "Douglas Adams, Writer" engraved on the headstone. Someone placed a ceramic pot in front of the headstone and faithful fans come and leave pens for him in it.

It was a fascinating tour and well worth going if you are in London and want to do something different. You can only go through the West Cemetery with a tour guide, and they make it so interesting with all their facts and tidbits of information.